All the Arts, All the Time

Cal State Fullerton art gallery renamed for $1-million donors

April 8, 2010 | 9:45
am

Cal State Fullerton's Main Art Gallery is being renamed the Lee and Nicholas Begovich Gallery in honor of the Fullerton couple's $1-million donation to the department of visual arts to endow exhibitions, scholarships, fellowships and artists-in-residence.

The retired couple -- he was a vice president at Hughes Aircraft and she taught first grade -- previously had given $120,000 to the university, including a $60,000 gift that led to the naming of the Scenic Design Laboratory in its performing arts center in their honor.

The $1 million is part of a campaign in tribute to Jerry Samuelson, who retired last year after 34 years as dean of the school's College of the Arts and 46 years at Cal State Fullerton. Joseph Arnold Jr. was appointed dean last summer after serving as a theater and dance professor and associate dean.

The gallery's next show is "Art Department Faculty: The First Generation," featuring works by 20 artists, including Samuelson, who played roles in establishing the department. Gallery director and associate professor Mike McGee is the curator for the free exhibition, which runs Saturday through May 14.